The embodiments described herein relate to an ultrasonic transducer driving circuit and ultrasonic image display apparatus.
An ultrasonic transducer driving circuit is a circuit that outputs pulses comprised of positive pulses and negative pulses to an output line toward an ultrasonic transducer and drives the ultrasonic transducer. As this kind of ultrasonic transducer driving circuit, a voltage output type circuit that controls an output voltage and supplies an electrical current for driving an ultrasonic transducer is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-101072. In particular, the voltage output type circuit comprises a positive voltage output circuit which outputs a positive voltage to the above-mentioned output line and a negative voltage output circuit which outputs a negative voltage to the above-mentioned output line. In this ultrasonic transducer driving circuit, when negative pulses are to be generated from a state in which the above-mentioned output line is at a positive voltage, the above-mentioned negative voltage output circuit is triggered to operate; and when positive pulses are to be generated from a state in which the above-mentioned output line is at a negative voltage, the above-mentioned positive voltage output circuit is triggered to operate.
When the above-mentioned negative voltage output circuit is triggered to operate when generating negative pulses from a state in which the above-mentioned output line is supplied with a positive voltage, a current arising from electric charges which have been charged in the above-mentioned ultrasonic transducer flows in this negative voltage output circuit for a certain period of time and power is consumed. In turn, when the above-mentioned positive voltage output circuit is triggered to operate when generating positive pulses from a state in which the above-mentioned output line is at a negative voltage, a current arising from electric charges which have been charged in the above-mentioned ultrasonic transducer flows in this positive voltage output circuit for a certain period of time and power is consumed. Therefore, reducing power consumption becomes a problem.